Turkish and Russian troops have completed the 13th round of joint ground patrols in northern Syria under a deal reached in October, Turkey's Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
"The 13th joint land patrol between Turkish and Russian units has been completed with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) support in the eastern Euphrates, as according to plan. A total of eight vehicles comprising of four from each side participated in the patrol along with UAVs in the Ayn al-Arab area," the ministry said in a statement.
"Turkish and Russian units patrolled an area 56 km (34.7 miles) in length and 7 km (4.3 miles) in depth," the statement added.
The first joint ground patrols took place on Nov. 1 near the Ras al-Ayn and Qamishli regions east of the Euphrates River.
The 12th patrol was carried out in the Qamishli and Derek regions on Saturday.
The Turkey-Russia agreement was reached after marathon talks between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Vladimir Putin in Russia. The deal had stipulated that Turkey will preserve a "safe zone" inside Syria that would be about 120 km long and 32 km deep. It also ensured that Russian military police and Syrian border guards would "facilitate the removal" of YPG terrorists and their weapons from within 30 kilometers (18 miles) of the border.
